Issue with RFM transmission

[phil]

Hello,
I am losing my hair trying to setup communication between a node and the gateway. It looks like my node is not transmitting at all. How can I troubleshoot that?

I am using Arduino Buono set to 3.3v. I believe I properly soldered the RFM module. I actually tried different models (RFM69CW and RFM69W) so I doubt I am just the unlucky guy who gets only getting broken RFM.

I am running version 2.4 of the gateway with the multi choice node. I read a bunch of tuto from Papa, not sure what I am missing. I don't have any issue on the Ethernet side. I can see my gateway registering with mqtt.
On the radio side, The issue seems to be around the call to transmit. The issue seems to be with the call radio.sendWithRetry. It always return false. I tried gateway and node codes that come with the RFM librairy. Same issue.

This is my 3rd attempt at this. Hoping it will go through this time.

Appreciate if someone can help.

Thanks,
Phil

[papa]

phil, I'm sorry you are having trouble. This is not an easy project. Most of us have had such trouble setting up our first gateway & node. That's why we started recommending that beginners try the ESP8266 nodes first. Or to get some experience, you could temporarily rework your gateway into the new Ethernet Node.

You've given a good summary of what you've tried for the RFM69 Gateway & nodes & your results. I'll ask a few followup questions to see if they may help.

In building the Gateway, as instructed in this post, did you disable the Buono's ICSP pin labeled VCC?
        Otherwise you can shorten the RFM69 radio's life with too much voltage.

Is the Gateway's D8 pin connected to its RFM69 radio's NSS pin? Is the node's D10 pin connected to its RFM69 radio's NSS pin?

Did you go to this post about "Downloading, Editing, & Installing Libraries" & later in the post, make the changes to the library files, w5100.h & ethernet.h ?
        That can help your Gateway & End Node connect more reliably.

In terms of my tutorials, check your work against this thread, which also uses this thread on the Gateway.
     In the tutorial, first have the Gateway & Bare Bones Node working before you go any further.

You might benefit from beginner's experiences indexed in this thread.

[phil]

Hi Papa,
Thank you for looking into my issue and getting back to me.
I did disabled the Buono's ICSP. I bent it as advised in the post.
I will double checked my connections but I am almost sure that everything is properly connected. This was something I realized while soldering. I am using proto shields. I need to confirm I didn't end up mixing them up.
I made the change for w5100.h and ethernet.h. Based on the fact that I can seem my gateway attempts in mosquitto.log, I am assuming that part is working fine.
I will follow the links you shared and get back to you.

Thanks,
Phil.

[papa]

phil: I am using proto shields. I need to confirm I didn't end up mixing them up

papa: By the way, which node are you trying to make. In my tutorial, be sure you try the Bare Bones Node, & when you do, make & try it with just the Buono Uno & no proto shield.

On the node's Buono, are you seeing the power LED lit? Some of those 3.3 volt / 5 volt switches are a bit flaky & need slight movement to supply power.

Please post screen captures of the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor 1) when the Node is connected to power and the Gateway is connected to the USB of the Arduino IDE computer AND 2) when the Gateway is connected to power and the Node is connected to the USB of the Arduino IDE computer.

[phil]

I checked and confirmed that NSS is well connected on both the node and the gateway.
I am building a bare bone node. Both the node and the gateway have power. They are properly detected on com5 and com6. I connect both at the same time so I an see debug output for both. Below is the debug screenshot for both.




I will unsolder from the proto shield and try again this weekend.

Thanks,
Phil

[phil]

Papa,
I have the same result connecting RFM module without proto shield.
Is it normal that on my node, on the arduino board, Rx is the one blinking when I transmit instead of Tx?

At this point I am considering buying a complete new set of hardware and start from scratch.

[papa]

phil: "Is it normal that on my node, on the arduino board, Rx is the one blinking when I transmit instead of Tx?"

papa: To be honest, I'm not sure. I would think the main transmitting would be wirelessly through the radio. On a node, the Arduino Rx / Tx are probably more related to communicating with the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor.

phil: "buying a complete new set of hardware and start from scratch"

papa: Yes, maybe so as a confirmation.  It could also be something we're missing so far.
            Again, you might benefit from beginner's experiences indexed in this thread

    If you get new stuff, try the Bare Bones node first.  That will be as simple as possible & limit what can go wrong.